Season Where Life Waits
by heartofShou
Summary: Zelloyd. A snapshot into one of the quiet moments.


Disclaimer: The little girl in her room didn't create the Barbie dolls- she just likes to play with them. Same idea.

Spoilers: Takes place post-game, but mostly only spoilers for the Zelos ending.

Pairing: ZelosxLloyd

Note: Written for the Zelloyd Club on DeviantArt. (JOIN! Ahem... Sorry, don't know where that came from.) The theme was seasons.

_**Season Where Life Waits**_

"Years go by and I'm here still waiting

Withering where some snowman was  
Mirror, mirror, where's the crystal palace  
But I only can see myself  
Skating around the truth who I am."

-Tori Amos, **Winter**

The forest seemed to have paid no mind to the fact that two worlds, for four millennia apart, were now newly reunited into one shared existence. Quietly and without any fuss, the leaves lost their fresh flush of green as they aged into brilliant shades of reds and golds. If cries of anguish or dramatic speeches of last words were made as the leaves lost their hold and tumbled down into oblivion, they were left unheard by the general world. Instead their corpses were admired as spreading a new carpet across the earth as the year too turned toward its end. Hundreds of types of thousands of botanical corpses littered the ground, decaying with no graveyard, as people trampled them underfoot, shuffling them, kicking them, or trudging through them as they made their way to more important destinations, the worn paths through the forest merely an intermission. Some admired the sight like a pretty painting while others turned a blind eye, disinterested after having gathered years' worth of autumn after autumn. None slowed their pace, more concerned of preserving their lives against monsters, bandits, or some other threat.  
Thus this made the two young men lying in the middle of the road quite an oddity.  
The plan had been to travel from Point A to Point B, but a wrong turn- an error lessened by journeying experience, but never wholly extinguished- had made the time between stops longer than had been prepared for. Such delays had happened before and probably would have come to naught had not another accident occurred. Zelos had been checking supplies, a routine inventory that was done every morning, when a bottle toppled out and onto the ground. A dark, thick cloud of ill aura swept up and around the trio- two men and their... dog. A Dark Bottle- a stupid, damn Dark Bottle whose lid had not been screwed tight enough. Zelos couldn't believe it. It was the sort of mistake Lloyd would usually make or at least one that was easier to picture the brunette doing. Yet it was his fault that they had had to spend a whole day being ambushed by all the beguiled predators of the forest. This day had started with them exhausted and items had dwindled to near nothing. Then, their last Poison Bottle was used- to cure Lloyd from an unlucky sting. The two had hobbled along some way, with Noishe anxiously trotting along behind and with Zelos helping to hold up Lloyd, exhaustion slowing the healing despite the quickly administered antidote.  
That was when Lloyd had come up with the idea.  
_"You know who has items? Other people. Bandits still roam the woods and they come by the dozen. Looking like we do we're bound to be attacked anyway. But this time we borrow some of their tactics. Lay in wait and when they attack- beat them senseless and then take what items they have. It's perfect!_"  
It had not been the first time this scheme had come into play albeit never quite in so blatant a fashion as baiting themselves in the middle of a road.  
A crimson leaf came and settled upon Zelos's nose. The redhead snorted and the leaf stirred but did not tilt over. Lilac eyes opened, annoyed. A corner of his mouth turned down displeased, a weak seal against a stream of useless grumbling. A gloved hand rose up loftily and daintily seized the intrusion by the stem and then let it fall as his arm lowered so that it settled amongst its mates. Zelos tilted his head to peer down at the array of colors fading down into brown before straightening back. "I should leave," he said softly, the first words to stir the silence in quite awhile.  
"And leave me here?" Lloyd murmured back in good humor. "That's hardly a good show of camaraderie."  
Zelos snorted, "Big word. The Professor would be so proud."  
"_I'm_ not the one that spilled the Dark Bottle," Lloyd pointed out smugly; glad to have a good come-back for once.  
A slight grumble and then, "I thought we agreed not to bring that up again."  
"You agreed. I said nothing of the kind."  
The redhead chuckled and let Lloyd have his victory. Though he prided himself on being able to outmatch any in wit or sarcasm, it pleased him sometimes for the other to win. Lloyd lacked the diction and subtle wordplay those at the royal court immersed in, but he could be quite quick on the draw. It made things interesting.  
"I did not mean now," Zelos amended. He shifted a bit to once again find some comfort; the leaves rustled under him like whispers. "But soon..." Head tilted back a bit he was able to stare up into the looming boughs of trees. Like a rug being unwoven, bits of sky now tore through the forest canopy like gaping holes. The trees were mostly bare now, with only the most stubborn still clamping onto their stems. Fall was a welcome change of appearance when it first began but this far into it, one tired of the repetitive color scheme. Now the only meaning it had for the ex-Chosen was its significance, the blaring warnings of a thing he could never escape. "...Winter is coming..."  
Three times now he had been in a city with a port and three times he had passed up the opportunity to sail for his private island. Often he had slipped into daydreams about its beautiful landscape and divine weather; his small tropical island was privately owned paradise on earth. Yet each time he found himself procrastinating on making the arrangements. It wouldn't be difficult: a clearly stated command and a few gald in the right hands is all it would take. Later, he would tell himself. There was time later. And now look. The leaves were already massively decomposing. He had never waited this long before. However, he and Lloyd had been making excellent progress on collecting the EXspheres and had even avoided one fiasco when some human scientists had decided to look into the manufacturing process of Exspheres. The simpletons were easily horrified into aborting such a nefarious operation. (And those that weren't, Zelos utilized Lloyd's reputation- one the brunette didn't even fully realized he had- as well as his own to cow them into submission.) So that had been a near disaster neatly avoided by the superstar duo that was Zelos and Lloyd.  
(Lloyd and Zelos...? Hm, it didn't quite have the same ring to it.)  
His self-indulgent thoughts were pleasantly interrupted by the feeling of Lloyd tilting his head back to look at him, brown and red strands brushing each other. "So it's true then?" the brunette asked, agate eyes clear of derision. "You do go to an island to escape winter?"  
"Escape nothing!" Zelos protested. He frowned at the choice of words. "I... vacate. That's why it's called a vacation."  
Lloyd laughed, "As you wish."  
Somehow Zelos did not feel as though anything had really been accomplished. Telling Lloyd had not settled his resolve like he had thought it would. Oh well. What will happen, will happen. He couldn't really do anything about it anyway until they got to the next village.  
Quiet again.  
An eastern wind blew, already carrying the slight icy tinge that forewarned of winter's impending approach. What little leaves were left shuddered and more fell to their deaths, wordlessly. It also stirred the cadavers piling on the ground, shuffling them so it sounded like faint footsteps walked unseen until disappearing without a trace. The two companions were left undisturbed, their dog curled up on the side of the road. Noishe had long given up the struggle against dozing and had settled into a nice nap. Despite the fact that they were expecting to be attacked at any moment and the fact that they were lying on a dirt road with only decaying plantlife to cushion them, the notion of a nap was a tempting one.  
A murmuring, this time not made by leaves. Lilac eyes opened again and registered that it was the hero in red beside him that was speaking. "Hm?" he hummed; absently figuring a comment had been made to him.  
"Hm?" Lloyd echoed, somewhat surprised that Zelos was still awake. Then it occurred to him that the redhead had heard him. "Oh. Nothing. Our situation just reminded me of something."  
"I didn't recognize your words," Zelos commented.  
The other chuckled. "It was in Dwarven," he explained. "Us laying here like this... It reminded me of a lyric from an ancient Dwarven epic. Roughly translated, it means: _He walked along the autumn road until he came to the end of the road._" He peered back at Zelos again and said, "It's a play on words, you see," as though that explained everything.  
The ex-Chosen peered back and replied dryly, "No. I don't see."  
Lloyd frowned, annoyed with his inability to explain properly. Usually he would give up there. Trying to explain a culture few knew anything about had often had him labeled as stupid or slow in the past so it had never been worth it to him to appear more foolish in an attempt to explain fully. Upon guessing this reason though, Zelos had tried some experimenting. Some earnest prompting and honest interest displayed could ease Lloyd into revealing a bit more. His Bud could be surprisingly tight-lipped at times. At ease and alone like this, Lloyd decided to continue, albeit a little slowly, "Well... the Dwarven word for autumn can be translated into about two different meanings- the season of ending or the season of death. So that line could also be said as: _He walked along a dying road until he came upon the dead of the road._" His lips pursed into a contemplative frown that-in Zelos's personal opinion- was adorable. "Except I don't think in Common it's referred to as the dead of the road. So maybe that doesn't work."  
"Interesting," Zelos murmured back assuringly. He resettled his head. "Though... in our culture, it is usually winter that is referred to as the season of death." And really it was no surprise. Freezing temperatures in which nothing could grow. Blank white covering all the earth. Trees barren while wildlife struggles to survive. Such imagery was usually left to poetry as the advanced races were able to cushion themselves from such realities, for the most part. No such luck for nature.  
Lloyd shifted, a little less listlessly than before. The antidote must have completed its task and the hero's strength was returning. "Not for Dwarves," the brunette reiterated. "For us-" for Lloyd had never really stopped classifying himself as a Dwarf- "For us, winter is a time of stillness. But that's not necessarily a bad thing."  
Stillness. Like they were doing now. It was odd to just lie next to one another and be content with the sound of each other's breathing. Then again, Lloyd made him enjoy odd things like that. Yet his mouth was oddly dry as he asked, "Is that what it means? In Dwarven, I mean."  
The Dwarven-raised man inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly. The leaves behind him stirred with momentary life before stilling again. "The word for winter," he said at last, quietly, "means 'the season where life waits'." Another deep breath. "Perhaps... Dwarves just had a different way of observing things. To them, autumn was the time they had to witness everything die. Everything seemed to come to its end. Yet winter... It is the transition between death and life. And something cannot be created from nothing. So that must mean that life never really fades away. Instead it is hidden away until the time it can reawaken. Until then... Life waits." He pause, blinking in wonderment that somehow he had conducted some sort of mini-speech. Then he laughed, strangely not caring that he had potentially sounded foolish. "Ah, well. Something like that."  
Lips quipped in a half-smile as Zelos instinctively became pleased at the sound of the other being happy. "Optimistic as ever," Zelos commented, languidly picking out a trio of leaves that had fallen down onto his hair. "You're getting quite predictable, Bud."  
"It's not like I made it up!" Lloyd retorted. "It's ancient Dwarven thought!"  
"That you always resort to," Zelos pointed out wryly. Even on the ground, he managed to shrug. "Isn't it, like, Dwarven Vow #1300? Something like: 'Thou shalt not behave in a predictable fashion'?" He snickered, fully amused with his own cleverness.  
His companion, however, only gave a derisive snort. "No Dwarven Vow uses the word 'thou'," he remarked haughtily. His pride in Dwarven Vows was only on par with his pride for his swordsman skills- except for Vow 7. "Neither would it be so plainly stated."  
Zelos just laughed some more.  
The hero in red pursed his lips and turned his head. "This is why I don't like talking to you," he complained, though it was vastly untrue. There were many a night were they would lie awake and talk into the small hours of the evening. Zelos Wilder, infamous Gigolo, content to simply talk the night hours away? Well... it wasn't always _simply_... Wait, what was Bud saying again? "You never take me seriously!"  
Graceful as a lounging cat, Zelos rolled onto his stomach. He was thus able to smile smugly down at the precious face he now cupped upside-down. "Now, now," he cooed, clearly liking his position. "In all seriousness..." He pressed a kiss to the brunette's forehead. "It is a beautiful idea. Just the sort of ideal I would expect you to have." A crease appeared on that lightly tanned forehead as though unsure of whether he was being mocked or not; Zelos eased it away with the gentle of caress of his lips. Then he lowered his head so as to whisper huskily in Lloyd's ear. (A grand talent of his was to speak sincerely in a manner that made it seem like he wasn't.) "Not one of your better speeches, I admit. Didn't quite sway my opinion of winter. I quite like hating it, thank you." The hero in red shivered slightly at his touch. The ex-Chosen liked it this way; he liked keeping Lloyd in suspense of what he was going to do next. "When it comes to you though... Ah, that is a very serious matter. I always hang onto every word you say." And he lifted up to exchange a gentle kiss with his beloved.  
After all, contrary to what he had always though, everything good in him had not been murdered that winter's day. It had just been hidden for awhile, kept so safely stashed that he had thought it gone. When he had met Lloyd and grown to know him, he had thought- had wanted to believe- that the hero contained everything virtuous he would want in himself. Time had taught him otherwise. Even as years had gone by, Zelos had been stuck in winter. Lloyd had come and pushed aside the snow- to show that life still existed inside the deceitful Chosen.  
_"I want you to live too, Zelos."_  
Good things had existed inside him all along and with Lloyd's help he was enjoying discovering all those aspects.  
"Well, lookie here, fellas," a nasal voice interrupted the warm haze of luv-luv the two companions had found themselves settling in. They pulled slightly apart to see a group of five bandits smirking toothily at them. The wolf grinning at them seemed just as smug. One was already readying his bow and the mage giggled playfully behind her hand. The speaker threateningly smacked a club into his palm, readying it for the pummeling he was sure was coming. "Did we disturb the little love bird nest?" They all chuckled derisively.  
The two heroes blinked a few times. Then Zelos gave one last light kiss. "Excuse me, Bud," he soothed, stroking back some stray strands of brown hair. "I need to take care of something real quick." Then, like a roused lion, he was on his feet and charging, sword already drawn for battle.  
"What?" Lloyd gasped, turning onto his belly. A swift push up propelled him onto his feet. "Oh not without me you're not!"

- Fin

_For the record, I was actually born in autumn. So no bashing intended.  
Also-  
There! They kissed! You happy, Antiquity-Dreams?_


End file.
